Probe calibration record

How to use it

1. Give each probe a name or number, and write it on the probe too.
2. Iced water: fill a container with crushed ice and a little cold water, put the probe tip in, wait for the display to settle and write the reading. It should be between −0.5 °C and +0.5 °C.
3. Boiling water: immerse the probe tip in boiling water (not in the steam from a kettle), wait for the display to settle and write the reading. It should be between 99.5 °C and 100.5 °C.
4. Tick pass or fail for each check.
5. If a probe fails, stop using it, switch to your spare, and replace it or send it back for calibration. Write what was done.
6. Check every probe at least twice a year, or more often if your HACCP plan says so.

The FSAI guidance figures

• Check each probe at least twice a year
• Accurate to at least ±0.5 °C
• Iced water: −0.5 °C to +0.5 °C
• Boiling water: 99.5 °C to 100.5 °C

These are guidance figures. Use the limits in your own food safety management system, and see the FSAI Safe Catering pack and food safety temperatures explained.

Every temperature you record is only as good as the probe that took it. See probe thermometer calibration for the full FSAI guidance and why the kettle-steam method is no longer advised.

When paper gets hard to keep up

Paper sheets get missed on busy days, filled in at the end of a shift, and lost when you need them. In Hygivo, probe checks can be a scheduled task with the readings recorded on a phone, and the hygiene inspection checklist asks whether probes have been checked. Temperature logs in Hygivo.

This is general information, not advice for your business. Your food safety management system (HACCP plan) and FSAI guidance are the reference. Hygivo is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FSAI.